In the classic Christmas story "The Gift of the Magi", by O. Henry, Della Young sells what is most dear to her, her beautiful and very long hair, to buy her husband Jim, a Christmas present. The gift he chooses is a chain for Jim's pocket watch, the only thing of value he has. When she gives Jim her gift, she discovers that he has sold her watch to buy her a set of head combs to adorn her beautiful hair. The moral of the story is that you don't have to buy anything to be happy, so resist the urge to squander.
Steps
Step 1. Examine your economic habits
Are your purchasing decisions motivated by your values or by advertising? Do not be influenced by consumerism and the obsession with spending money.
Try to understand what drives you to buy and ask yourself what needs are really satisfied with shopping. Do you do it out of habit, because all your friends do it and you get bored easily? Trying to share other experiences, such as sports, hobbies, and special interest clubs, can help you break this vicious circle. Do you like the shopping experience because you have the opportunity to choose and are treated with respect by the shop assistants? You can get the same treatment and better products at Sunday markets and the flea market. Are you rewarding yourself for small achievements? That's a good thing, but you may for a moment focus more on the type of reward that motivates you the most and you may find that spending time having fun is actually a better reward
Step 2. Stay indoors
If you don't need to shop, don't shop just because you're bored. Don't use shopping as a form of entertainment. Look for other types of passions and ways to entertain yourself, if you feel lonely invite other people to your house or organize a group to play together. Games are a good alternative for socializing, and in roleplaying games, "shopping" for equipment with play money won in some businesses may be more satisfying than real shopping.
Step 3. Leave the money at home
The easiest way to buy nothing is to not carry any money, checks, debit or credit cards with you when you go out. At the most, you can take small amounts of money with you for emergencies.
Step 4. Avoid plastic
Put the credit card in a container with water and freeze it. This way you will have it available for holidays and emergencies, but not to buy stuff. Or, better yet, give it to a relative you trust.
Step 5. Buy used items
If you really need something and haven't been able to do without it, borrow it, or find it in a landfill, go to a thrift store and buy it cheap. Online auctions and sales in flea markets are also fine, even if there is always the temptation to buy "stuff" that you don't really need.
Step 6. Pay in cash
Studies show that the average person spends less if they pay in cash and more if they pay with an income card, probably because when using a credit card they don't think they are paying with "real" money.
Step 7. Plan a budget and stick to it
Don't treat your budget like a promise made on New Year's Eve. Although planning and adhering to your budget requires self-control, it is a really good way to keep your finances under control and avoid accumulating terrifying debt files and useless stuff in the act of destroying self-respect.
- Pick something you really like and put it in your budget to reward yourself for sticking to your budget. When you've saved something, divide the difference between the savings and the cash to keep in your wallet, then you can spend that on experiences, digital goods, or construction hobby tools.
- Always include an entertainment item in your budget. It serves to make life worth living by eliminating the superfluous and not to make you feel deprived of everything. It also serves as a small reserve for emergencies. You will be less inclined to save money for minor emergencies if you have a reasonably large entertainment budget. Savings must be equal to or greater than this figure.
Step 8. Make a shopping list and follow it
Make decisions about what to buy at home, where your needs are visible, instead of making them in stores, where shelves full of other products can distract and persuade you. A list can help you postpone and consider each expense.
Step 9. Ask yourself questions
Will I use it every day? Will I use it enough to make the purchase worth it? How many hours did I have to work to pay for this? Use the quarterly forecast method. Ask yourself if you will still use that object regularly after three months. If you've lived long enough without using it, do you really think you need it? If you travel frequently, try to figure out if this product is really worth carrying around every time you travel. Otherwise, ask yourself if it's worth taking up your precious living space with this item.
Step 10. Repair, Don't Replace
If you made a good purchase and something worked well, don't think you need to replace it if it breaks. A good repair shop may be able to repair it and bring it back to "near original" condition for less than it would cost you to replace it, and you won't have to worry about the problem of disposal.
Step 11. Try to get the things you want for free
There are tons of ways to get what you want without breaking the bank.
- Check the internet, many give away items they no longer need instead of selling them. Go to tuttogratis.it or look for other sites that give you free samples or gadgets. These sites are useful because many people buy things they don't need or replace items in great condition with similar but new things. You can decide to be smarter than them!
- Borrow. If you need a product for a short time, why not borrow it from someone? There is no shame in borrowing someone, as long as you do the same when someone needs something to borrow from you.
- Try bartering. Your past raids have certainly left you with a lot of things you no longer need, but could be of use to others. Experience good, old bartering, it's recommended by all economists!
Step 12. Avoid shopping malls if possible
If you need to buy something, go to a store that sells it. Don't head straight to the mall, where you might be driven to buy things you don't need. If you go to the mall just to go out with friends, consider the idea of finding new hobbies, or new friends. If you have to walk into a mall to go to a restaurant or a movie, try to focus on a conversation (either with yourself or with your friends) so that you don't focus on your surroundings. Focus on where you are going, but don't pay attention to the shops around you.
Step 13. Get help from friends
If you go out with friends, you may find that you have so much fun that you don't need to buy anything. You can also make a deal and take an oath that you won't buy anything. It's like that kind of 12-step program to get out of the consumer culture.
Step 14. Avoid any unnecessary updates
Yes, that new toaster has a device that allows you to toast eight slices at a time, but seriously, when will you ever need to toast eight slices of bread at a time? Our consumer culture causes people to substitute fully functional products for trivial reasons, such as design. Remember, an avocado-colored oven works just like a mango-colored one.
Step 15. Focus on durability
If you decide to buy something, choose a product that does not consume, or at least does not do it quickly. Avoid buying products that go out of style. Think carefully about how you will use that object and how your choice will satisfy your needs for as long as possible. Think in terms of long periods, an item with a longer lifespan can cost as much as 30% more, but it will still save you if you can use it twice as long.
Step 16. Focus on compatibility
If you really like an item, think carefully about how it can work with the things you already own. Probably that dress is beautiful and makes you look gorgeous, but if it doesn't coordinate well with at least two or three other pieces you already own, then you can use it in a limited way or, even worse, you will 'need' to buy other items to use it!
Step 17. Use the “Rule of 7” If something you like costs over 7 euros, wait 7 days and ask 7 trusted people if it is a good idea to buy it
If afterwards you still think it's a good idea, buy it. This rule will reduce the compulsive need to buy. As you acquire financial security and have more money available, increase the figure of the rule above 7 euros.
Step 18. Give gifts
Use your skills (or learn new ones) to make something and give it away. People will remember this much longer than store-bought gifts. Don't forget that a gift doesn't need to be wrapped. You can also give away some time, or some of your skills. Remember the lesson from the "Gift of the Magi": It is really the thought that matters. Money doesn't buy happiness, self-respect and no friends worth having.
Step 19. Tax yourself
Whenever you make a purchase over 10 euros (or 50, you decide the limit), you take 10% of the price you spent and put it in your savings or investments. In this way, you will be more discouraged in buying something just because there is a "discount" or a "super offer", and you will increase your financial security every time you make a purchase. If you use a debit or credit card, look for one that has a savings program.
Debit cards do not charge any interest. Credit cards do this. It's easier to avoid getting into debt by using a debit card and saving your line of credit for more serious emergencies, such as medical issues. Pay off your debts as soon as possible, it is a positive thing as much as saving and putting emergency resources back in your hands
Step 20. Grow some products yourself
If you have a small garden, it's easy to grow some food items.
Step 21. Ask yourself the three big questions - Want, To allow, Need.
I can afford it? I need it? I want? If the answer to all three questions is "YES", then you can buy it. Often the most difficult question to answer is the one about needing it. Learn to differentiate between basic, social, and emotional needs, and you'll be able to meet them in other ways, without having to stuff your house with useless stuff.
Ask yourself if something is cost effective in the long run. The eight-slice toaster can be economically advantageous if there are many people at home, if it consumes less electricity than 4 two-slice toasters, and if it is used continuously every morning. Energy-saving products can reduce your bill costs and pay for themselves with the savings you earn. Plan this kind of shopping carefully by putting money aside for the purchase, instead of going into debt to get it. In this way you will limit the purchase of unnecessary items and you will be grateful to have less junk around the house and more money around
Step 22. Try to be a smart buyer
If you want to buy something for someone's birthday, buy something that seems more expensive than the price you paid for it. Remember that something personal and meaningful can have a bigger impact than something expensive and trendy. Digital goods and experiences like going out to dinner, concerts, and movies can be a special gift that doesn't have to be kept and displayed forever.
Can't think of any other places to meet friends other than the mall? Go visit a friend, take a walk on some nature trail, go to a free concert or event, or go play in the park. Your life will be much richer if you avoid shopping malls
Advice
- Buy online, it costs less and there is more choice. When you shop online, you have one more excuse to plan your shopping in advance and to wait. You still have to wait for the shipping period so the impulse to spend decreases. Searching for a good item for days or weeks while planning the purchase can increase enthusiasm for the item, you will feel like a child at Christmas, when the package arrives.
- Instead of renting a movie, go to the city library. Many libraries often make a selection of films available for free. While you're there, check out other types of offers as well. Remember, libraries are wonderful places to stay and read and free.
- Growing spices, flowers and vegetables in your garden will pay off in kind regardless of how you use them and depending on the size of your garden and your gardening skills.
- Check near the garbage cans. Sometimes you can find fully functional computers and other electronic items that you just need to clean, repair, or refine. Old clothes can serve as dusting cloths, stuffing for cushions or stuffed animals, curtains and wall fabrics.
- Go in search of wooden pallets and platforms to use as lumber or as firewood. You can also break up broken furniture and use pieces of it, saving you a lot of trees by building your own furniture. Even small pieces can be glued together and attached to form cutting boards or for other uses.
- Empty the broken sofas and recover the padding. Place it in some pillow cases to wash it thoroughly before reusing it, then use it to stuff pillows, stuffed animals or other sofa cushions.
- Try to see if any friends have more of what you need. For example, a friend no longer gets shoes and is about to throw them away, ask her to give them to you, perhaps in exchange for a plate of biscuits or something else.
- Engage in some creative hobbies, painting, writing, singing, playing some musical instruments, dancing, digital remixing, designing websites, making jewelry or writing poetry. Once you have mastered the basics, your jobs could bring you some money. Sell your handcrafted masterpieces to a consignment shop. Hang your artwork in restaurants that show consignment paintings. Every constructive and creative hobby satisfies the soul and can be exchanged for other things you want.
- Broken crockery and glasses sorted by color can be used to create mosaics. Build some molds and get some concrete, then create some interesting fantasies by pressing the broken pieces into them to create a nice path in the garden. Before you try, go to the library and read about it. They can be a nice gift when you're done making them for your garden.
Warnings
- Don't make stupid choices to save a few cents. If you actually need something, it's better to buy something that lasts, rather than spending more for not buying it. This factor must be included in the purchase equation. If a bread maker saves you a lot of money in the long run, then it pays for itself. But only if you use it, and remember that you could find one for free on the internet.
- At first you may feel uncomfortable telling your friends that you'd rather not buy something you don't need and don't feel like going to the mall this week. Remember to give yourself time to feel comfortable with your choices.
